Lone Star Links - Spring 2020

Spring Edition 2020

2020 Lone Star GCSA Reception at GIS A great night in Orlando!

In This Issue...

LSGCSA New President Mike Epps’ Inagural President’s Message and Texas Trophy Save the Date!

President’s Message Mike Epps Mira Vista Country Club Golf Course Superintendent

Thank you, Cody Spivey, for doing and outstanding job as the 2019 president and to all of his team on the board of directors. 2019 was a great year for LSGCSA as we raised $15,207.20 from Rounds for Research, and a big dent in the BPM’s was made by our LSGCSA committee for the BPM’s. We will need your help with both of these in 2020. I would also like to say thank you to our vendors, who are sponsors each year and who helped sponsor the Lone Star reception at the GIS in Orlando. Our association could not function without our vendors and their support.

During my year as president of the NTGCSA I challenged the membership to ENGAGE. As 2020 President of LSGCSA, I challenge you to ENGAGE in both your local chapters and to come to the Texas Cup, Texas Trophy and the Lone Star reception at the GIS next year. Sign up your Assistants, Equipment Managers and come out to the meetings. Sign up to host an event and also put some serious thought in about helping to serve on local or LSGCSA boards or its committees. Remember it’s your association - help make it better! The next time you are about to sign up for a meeting call a buddy and tell him or her, to get off his or her “can” and go to the meeting with you. Please remember to ENGAGE and challenge your fellow superintendents to do so too.

The current times are going to be challenging with the Corona Virus. I believe that golf has a perfect platform for people to still get outside, exercise, appreciate nature, and still keep their social distancing. The industry will be challenged for sure, but superintendents are some of the most resourceful people on the planet. Keep your staff safe and healthy by keeping the shop and equipment clean, stagger your start times for labor, have dispersed work assignments, use your PPE’s, wash your hands, use sanitizing agents when appropriate and follow the recommendations of the health officials in your area. We will get through this challenging time and golf can offer a possible safer venue for exercise to our members and customers.

I am honored to be on the 2020 Board of Directors for LSGCSA and serve as your President this year. Please stay safe, healthy and as my old boss Charles Joachim would say “Keep it Green side UP”.

Board Orientation

Do you remember your first day at work on your very first job? More than likely, you do not. I would bet that someone took the time to show you how to do the job and probably gave you some idea of their expectations of how it should look when you were finished. There is no way you could have just arrived for that first day of work and started working without any training or guidance. How many employees do you hire and send them out on the golf course on their first day with zero training? The new employee has zero chance to succeed without proper guidance and training to do their job.

Many GCSA Chapters have started their meeting season and board of directors meetings for 2020.

Most of the boards of these chapters have brand new board members elected to serve their chapters.

What kind of training and guidance do you offer these new board members? This is no different than a brand new employee starting to work for you. This new board member will need training, guidance and expectations communicated to them if they are to succeed in this role.

GCSAA has developed a board orientation guideline that can help your chapters with this process.

The new board member can probably catch on after several months of watching and learning, but they might lose interest early on if they do not know what or how to perform their duties.

Travel with John Walker

I would recommend to contact any GCSAA field staff representative about scheduling a board orientation planning session to help with the on boarding of these new directors. They will be given the proper information and expectations of how to succeed in their role and the individual and the chapter will benefit greatly from this process.

Lone Star GCSA Board of Directors 2020 North Texas

South Texas

Central Texas

West Texas

Texas Gulf Coast

Mike Epps

Cody Spivey Past President

Craig Felton Vice President

James Stow

Kevin Girt

Jason Barrington

Ken Gorzycki CGCS

Terry Gill

Jacob Snyman

President

Jeff Hansen Secretary Treasurer

Mike Upchurch

Brian Woolard

Email lsgcsa18@gmail.com to request contact information for any Board Member or visit LSGCSA.org

Host Golf Course Superintendent

Jason Barrington

His aim was true

LSGCSA member Billy “True” Adams has been fortunate to record 5 holes-in-one during his golf career. But it’s a good bet that his most recent ace, recorded during the 2020 GCSAA Golf Championships in Orlando, will be his most memorable.

Great shootin’ Billy!

The Campus Course at Texas A&M opened for play in 1951 and originally designed by Ralph Plummer.

The Plummer design was a staple on the Texas A&M Campus for over 60 years, until a complete renovation in 2013 – a par 71, gem designed

by Texas A&M’s own Jeff Blume ’89.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE TEXAS CUP!

Schedule of Events 10:30 am 11:30 am 12:45 pm 1:00 pm 5:30 pm

Check In / Social Hour Lunch, Driving Range, Putting Practice Announcements Shotgun Start Scoring, Drinks and Appetizers

Pump Station Sales & Service Inspections

Wetwell and intake inspections with video and reports. Wetwell and intake structures can be repaired or replaced. We also have a pump station audit program to make sure you are using your pump station to it’s fullest.

Monitoring and Service

With PMC’s remote access and monitoring system, it’s like having a 24-hour service technician at your pump station via cellular phone or other enabled devices. Immediate text alerts followed by detailed emails.

Rebuilds and Upgrades

With a machine shop, pump shop, fabrication shop and an electrical shop, we are capable of keeping your equipment in working condition. Full-service vehicles with technicians. Give us a call or email at info@pmc-service.com.

Pumps, Motors & Controls, Inc., Houston, TX 832-487-9463

Save the Date!

November 8 - 10, 2020

HOST CHAPTER

Sunday Mixer

TITLE SPONSOR

Trophy Rounds 1 and 2

Details and RSVP coming Summer 2020!

A Great Night in Orlando!

The Lone Star GCSA hosted a very special night during the Golf Industry Show conference in Orlando, Florida in late January. The event was held at the infamous “Pub� right in the middle of all the action.

We had over 250 of our members and their guests enjoy a wonderful evening of good food, spirits, and camaraderie.

Like every Lone Star GCSA event and activity, we couldn't do it without our great sponsors who are listed on page 11.

Thank you to everyone who attended and all of our generous sponsors for making it a night to remember!

Thank you to our Sponsors!

2020 Lone Star GCSA Reception - Thank you to all our Sponsors

RECEPTION GOLD SPONSORS

RECEPTION SILVER SPONSORS

J. Hargrove Construction

THANK YOU AFFILIATED CHAPTERS!

January Meeting Review A huge THANK YOU to Jerry Wade and Harlingen Country Club for hosting us and so generously comping our costs. What a treat!

We had a good turnout, a wonderful lunch and it was a great day for golf.

Thank you to our meeting sponsor, Professional Turf Products.

Your support is so appreciated!

Introduced were Israel Vasquez who will be Superintendent at the LE Ramey course in Kingsville. Florencio Garza came with Danny Gonzalez. Danny is retired now and Florencio used to work for Danny.

Thank you to our hole sponsors: Ameriturf, Brent Ratcliff and Simplot, Link Windham.

John Fulling ascends to GCSAA presidency Mark Jordan elected VP, Kevin Breen voted in as secretary/treasurer at the GCSAA Annual Meeting. January 30, 2020 | Andrew Hartsock Newly elected GCSAA President John R. Fulling Jr., CGCS, left, acknowledges the 2020 GCSAA Board of Directors near the conclusion of the Annual Meeting on Thursday at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. Fulling is the association’s 84th president. Photo by Montana Pritchard As GCSAA Annual Meetings go, the one that transpired Thursday at the Orange County Convention Center was relatively uneventful. John R. Fulling Jr., CGCS, was elected president, and Mark F. Jordan, CGCS, was elected vice president in balloting among the assembled delegates. Fulling is superintendent at Kalamazoo (Mich.) Country Club and a 30-year GCSAA member; Jordan, natural resources leader at Westfield Country Club in Westfield Center, Ohio, is a 34-year association member.

In the only contested GCSAA Board of Directors officer race, Kevin P. Breen, CGCS, was voted into the role of secretary/treasurer. Breen is superintendent at La Rinconada Country Club in Los Gatos, Calif., and a 29-year GCSAA member.

Kevin P. Sunderman, CGCS, who was edged out in balloting for secretary/treasurer, joined the ballot and was chosen to another term on the board.

Douglas D. Dykstra, CGCS, then won the voting to join the board for the next two years. Dykstra is the superintendent at White Mountain Country Club in Pinetop, Ariz. The final board domino fell when Rafael Barajas, CGCS, assumed his board slot as immediate past president.

T.A. Barker, CGCS, Paul L. Carter, CGCS, and Jeff L. White, CGCS, all have one year remaining on their two-year terms on the board.

Vowing to work tirelessly to move GCSAA forward, Fulling graciously took the gavel from Barajas and gave his thanks to Barajas and 2019 immediate past president Darren J. Davis, CGCS, for their guidance.

“This organization is in great shape,” Fulling said, before motioning to the board assembled behind him, “and with these guys behind me, it’s in great hands.”

In brief addresses, both Davis and Fulling encouraged the assembled delegates to continue to serve and to consider a role in leadership.

“You will get, personally and professionally, exponentially, back what you put into it,” Fulling said.

Before handing off the gavel, Barajas — GCSAA’s 83rd president and its first Hispanic president — thanked GCSAA members and staff, his co-workers and his family for their support. But he promised he wasn’t finished advocating and working for the golf course maintenance industry.

“The next 12 months are going to be a little less challenging for me,” he said, “but I look forward to staying in service and advancing the profession.”

LSGCSA.org

For all the latest chapter news and infromation

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @lsgcsa

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING ROUNDS 4 RESEARCH Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Rounds 4 Research 2020 has been postponed. Information on the future date for the auction is forthcoming. Donations are still being accepted. www.eifg.org/research/rounds-4-research

November means a lot of things in North Texas. Thanksgiving, start of the Christmas season, high school football playoffs, hunting season, and the NTGCSA Scholarship Tournament. For more than 30 years, the chapter has held this event to raise money for turfgrass research and scholarships to be awarded to deserving children of members.

Over the years, the chapter has assisted dozens of excellent students in their pursuit of education. And this November, we visited a very familiar place at Rivercrest Country Club in Fort Worth. Joe Livingston CGCS has been a part of this event for many years and has hosted at Rivercrest three different years - 2005, 2013, and 2019.

Rivercrest always provides the royal treatment for our members and their guests and this year was no different.

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NATIONAL GOLF DAY We Are Golf, a coalition of the game’s leading associations and industry partners including GCSAA, hosts the annual National Golf Day event in Washington, D.C. National Golf Day celebrates the game’s nearly $84 billion economy, nearly $4 billion annual charitable impact and many environmental and fitness benefits. Industry leaders meet with Members of Congress, the Executive Branch and federal agencies to discuss golf ’s 15,000-plus diverse businesses, 2 million jobs impacted, tax revenue creation and tourism value.

IMPORTANT! 2020 National Golf Day Postponed

In response to the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control that organizers cancel or postpone in-person events of 50 people or more scheduled during the next eight weeks throughout the U.S., National Golf Day, scheduled for May 4-6 in Washington, D.C., has been postponed.

Due to the rapidly evolving nature of decisions by public health agencies, federal and state governments, a decision on whether to reschedule NGD will be made at a later date. We will continue to closely monitor the impacts of the coronavirus, and will be in contact with a decision on NGD 2020 as circumstances evolve in the coming days and weeks.

For questions or more information, contact Diana DeWald, government affairs administrative coordinator at 800-472-7878, ext. 3675

OUR 2019 SILENT AUCTION WAS A HUGE SUCCESS!!!

WE RAISED $5610 FOR 2020 SCHOLARSHIPS!!

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO FURNISHED ITEMS!

The great 2019 event season wrapped up in December at a familiar site - Plum Creek Golf Course in Kyle. We had great attendance for a terrific education lineup that earned participants continuing education points from the TDA and GCSAA. Our education line included Dr. Jeff Higgins, Dr. Derek Settle, Travis Klosterboer, and Dr. Don Renchie.

Thanks to all who provided very interesting and useful information. Johnny Walker of the GCSAA attended the event and reported the great results of the Rounds for Research auction managed by the Lone Star GCSA. Thanks again to all who participated and provided education for this great event. And a SPECIAL THANK YOU to our event Title Sponsor Simplot!

Thanks to all the participants, sponsors and our very special hosts at Briggs Ranch Golf Club, the Central Texas GCSA was able to make a $3000 donation to the Wounded Warrior Project.

The members of the chapter also donated over 125 toys to the Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio.

Congratulations to everyone involved for making it a great day!

Congratulations to the Lone Star GCSA Team #1 who captured the Team Net Division Championship at the GCSAA National Championship in Orlando, Florida. The team included Steve Gilley from Panorama Golf Club in Conroe, Texas; Tanner Chrastecky from Houston Oaks Golf Course in College Station, Texas; Shawn Westacott from Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas; and Edward Martinez from Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas.

The Lone Star Chapter had 4 individual players finish in the top 10 of the National Championship. Steve Gilley, the defending National Champion finished 3rd with a very impressive 3 under finish. The other top 10 finishers include Tanner Chrastecky of Houston Oaks (4th), Shawn Westacott of Maridoe Golf Club (6th), and Edward Martinez of Las Colinas Country Club (10th).

Deron Zendt the GCSAA Class A superintendent at Pine Tree Golf Club in Boynton Beach, Fla. — and winner of the event in 2014 — was the winner of the National Championship.

Service. Solutions. Insights.

Other Lone Star highlights from the event include Jeff Smelser from Galveston Country Club – winner of the Classic III Flight and Scott Miller from Gleneagles Country Club was the winner of the Classic Senior 2 Flight.